The tense silence in the shattered lobby felt less like a battlefield and more like an awkward reunion—except this reunion was an absolute powder keg.
Facing them stood the four Special Executives of Bansho's elite squad, while Kye and the Alliance traded irritated glances.
VOLUME 3RD - CHAPTER 32 - BEGINS...!
Kye: "What the hell are you all doing here? Don't tell me you showed up just to get in my way again. I thought I made it crystal clear last time: stay out of my business."
Saito: "Nobody came here for you, Kye. We're here on our own mission, operating on our own objectives."
Kye: "And why on earth should I believe that?"
Arisa: "Look, Kye, I don't know what your problem is, but we came here with our own purpose. So Stop talking like that—no one followed you here!"
Kye's lips curved into a faint, mocking smirk.
Kye: "Well, that's both good news and bad news. Just make sure you don't get caught in my crossfire. And if you get hurt, feel free to run without looking back."
Hollow: "What do you mean 'run'? They might be your enemies, but they're ours too. We don't run away from a fight."
SWOOSH—CLASH!
Sparks erupted. Hollow crossed his twin Death Blades just in time, barely catching two needle-thin, high-density iron spikes honed to razor sharpness.
Valerina vaulted backward gracefully, catching the returning spikes between her fingertips.
Valerina: "You pests have been blabbering for far too long—it's getting on my nerves. The only person in this room I care about is him. Weaklings like you are just in the way. So either die quickly or run along."
Elena's face contorted in sheer disgust at Valerina's twisted, predatory demeanor.
Elena: "What is wrong with you? I've never seen anyone act this unhinged... Are you people even human?"
Kaizen: "Aww... Don't think we're human, sweetheart? Why don't you try me out? I'd be more than happy to show you what true monster-grade roughness feels like—in bed and on the battlefield."
Saito: "Are these people completely deranged? Ever since you two opened your mouths, it's been nothing but filthy trash. Do you both suffer from some severe hypersexuality disorder or what?"
Kaizen's smirk vanished, his eyes turning murderous.
Kaizen: "You pathetic little runt. I despise guys like you—worthless weaklings who can't do anything on their own, sticking your noses into everyone else's business!"
In the blink of an eye—
CLASH!
A twin-edged vibrating blade stopped a single inch from Saito's throat.
Kye's reinforced blade had intercepted the strike mid-air, deflecting the lethal slash with effortless precision.
Kye: "Told you. You're only going to get in my way."
Saito: "I'm sorry... I lost my focus for a second."
Kye flashed a sharp, mocking grin, his tone dropping into something lethal.
Kye: "Not every Special Executive is a brute like Cipher. Some of them might be far worse. Brace yourselves."
Saito was in complete shock; he couldn't grasp what Kye had said to him, nor did he have the time to think about it.
The air fractured, and the clash ignited instantly.
Kaizen: "You arrogant piece of trash! I've heard all about your disgusting attitude, and seeing it in person makes me sick. I've never laid eyes on someone as wretched as you!"
Kye: "Oh, really? Wretched? Have you ever bothered looking into a mirror, moron? If you had, you wouldn't be throwing around words you clearly don't understand."
Kye hurled both of his high-density blades straight at Kaizen's throat. Kaizen leaned to the side, effortlessly dodging the twin arcs with a sneer.
Before the blades could fly past, they abruptly snapped backward mid-air. Thin, razor-wire chains bound to Kye's gauntlets pulled them back in reverse momentum. While Kaizen's eyes tracked the retracting steel—
BOOM!
Kye closed the distance instantaneously, driving a concrete-shattering straight punch directly into Kaizen's jaw, slamming his skull hard into the floor tiles.
Without breaking stride, Kye spun on his feet and launched his right-hand blade toward Seraphine, simultaneously locking his left blade into a rapid melee clash against Valerina's iron needles.
The blade that whistled past Seraphine whipped violently around the pillar, pulled by Kye's chained recoil straight toward the back of Valerina's neck.
Sensing the deadly whistle of steel, Valerina arched her spine backward at an impossible angle, barely letting the blade graze past her bangs.
Valerina: "Woah... that was way too close! You really are something special, Kye... your crowd-control instincts are simply breathtaking."
Kye was already gone.
Before Valerina could recover her footing, Kye had crossed the hall, palming Ravik's face and driving the massive executive's head violently into the reinforced floor. Kaizen surged back onto his feet, lashing out with a blind frenzy of counter-strikes, but Kye pivoted smoothly, parrying every single blow with effortless fluidity.
The entire Alliance watched in stunned silence, their visors scanning his combat flow.
Hollow: "Just how much stronger has he gotten? Tch! Seeing this is making my blood boil... Move over, Kye, I'm taking this one!"
Ignited by the sight, Hollow surged forward, locking his twin Death Blades against Valerina's needles in a shower of white-hot sparks.
Behind him, Saito, Arisa, and Elena clicked their safety switches off, racking their upgraded multi-element rifles and priming tactical explosives as the entire unit mobilized into formation.
Arisa, Elena, and Saito opened up with relentless suppressing fire, but the augmented executives moved with inhuman fluidity—weaving through the supersonic bullet trails as if the lead meant nothing to them.
Arisa: "Do you really think we can make a difference like this, Elena? They're dodging everything!"
Elena gritted her teeth, the brutal memory of the Cipher battle flashing behind her eyes—remembering how Saito and Hollow had nearly died carrying the entire burden alone.
Elena: "Not this time. We aren't standing by while they bleed out. We're breaking their rhythm!"
Inspired by Elena's fire, Arisa locked her grip onto her rifle. Nearby, Saito's visor flickered with tactical data, his mind running geometric calculations, ricochet angles, and explosive yields in real time.
A few yards away, Valerina was relentlessly overwhelming Hollow. Her sharp iron needles struck with blinding speed, forcing Hollow entirely onto the defensive as his Death Blades struggled to parry the flurry.
Valerina: "Did you hear what Kye said? Cipher was just a muscle-bound idiot with no brain—he was the weakest among us. Grimm was the real deal, a true apex executive. My personal dream match was always Seraphine versus Grimm... what a pity that won't ever happen now."
Hollow stayed dead silent, teeth clenched, barely ducking under another needle thrust aimed at his eye.
Meanwhile, Kye was being pushed to the brink. Despite his immense physical strength and blade mastery, fighting three top-tier executives simultaneously was tipping the scales against him.
Seraphine drove a heavy front kick into his chest, breaking his balance. In that split-second opening, Kaizen swung his dual vibrating blades straight for Kye's neck.
CRACK!
Kye caught the descending steel with his bare palm. Blood poured down his forearm, yet a bloodstained grin spread across his face.
Before Kye could counter, Ravik's steel-toed boot crashed directly into his jaw, sending him crashing into the concrete floor.
Seraphine pounced immediately, pinning Kye down beneath her knees. Driving her dual Japanese fangs downward with crushing force, she aimed directly for his throat. Kye crossed his short blades against the twin spikes, muscles tearing under the pressure.
Kye: "Ugh... have to admit... your physical leverage is insane for a woman."
Seraphine: "Thanks for the compliment. I've heard quite a few flattering things about you too."
Watching the two locked in that tangled position from across the hall, Valerina's face darkened with jealous rage.
Valerina: "Big sister! Why are you all over my man?! Are you here to fight or fool around? Isn't that supposed to be my job?!"
Valerina drove the sharp heel of her boot straight into Hollow's chest, vaulting off him with explosive momentum. She soared through the air, her iron needles aimed directly at Kye's exposed face!
Pinned beneath Seraphine, Kye couldn't maneuver in time to dodge the airborne strike.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A cluster of multi-shot micro-munitions detonated mid-air right between Seraphine and Valerina!
The shockwave blasted the two sisters apart in a wall of shrapnel and white-hot smoke, giving Kye the exact window he needed to roll out of the crater and regain his footing.
The precision blast had come courtesy of Elena and Arisa's heavy tactical launchers.
Kye: "Didn't expect you two to actually pull off a save."
Arisa: "What did you take us for, Kye? We're not dead weight—we can fight!"
Arisa and Elena raised their rifles, laying down a blistering continuous volley into the smoke, where the silhouettes of Seraphine and Valerina could be seen deflecting the high-caliber rounds with their reinforced blades.
Tearing through the thick haze of smoke, Ravik and Kaizen launched forward in seamless unison. Ravik's brutal agility matched Kaizen's fluid, ninja-like strikes, making their flanking patterns nearly impossible for Kye to anticipate at close quarters.
Before their blades could carve into Kye, Saito sprinted into the firing lane.
FZZZ—BOOM!
A volley of micro-missiles burst from Saito's shoulder mounts, detonating directly against the two executives. Yet, as the flash cleared, the armor plating on both men absorbed the kinetic blast without a scratch.
Closing the gap instantly, Kaizen drove a reinforced palm strike into Saito's chest. The impact launched Saito across the lobby, slamming him violently into the concrete pillar.
CRACK!
A web of fractures spread across Saito's tactical visor. His head spun from the sheer concussive shock, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth—yet behind the fractured glass, a calm smirk formed on his lips.
He had already achieved his objective.
Saito: "Look down at your legs, idiots."
Kaizen and Ravik froze, glancing downward. Embedded deep into their thighs and calves were clusters of glowing micro-needles.
Saito: "Those are loaded with synthetic neuro-toxins and weaponized bio-agents. Don't take them lightly... an ordinary human would drop dead just from inhaling the vapor."
THUMP...! THUMP...!
Violent spasms racked their chests. Their heartbeats surged erratically as dark red blood spilled past their lips.
Kaizen: "You wretched little insect... I should have—"
Before he could finish the threat, Kye stepped in with a devastating spinning kick straight to Kaizen's jaw. Spinning the razor-wire chains bound to his gauntlets, Kye wrapped Kaizen tightly and hurled him across the hall, embedding him into the opposite wall.
Without pausing for a breath, Kye channeled his flames into a massive, spectral fire hand. The searing claw clamped down hard on Ravik's throat, hoisting the massive executive into the air before launching him straight through the reinforced exterior glass!
CRASH!
Ravik smashed through the outer perimeter wall, rocketing across the street and obliterating a commercial storefront in an explosion of brick and glass.
Outside, the surrounding crowds of shoppers and pedestrians—already terrified by the thunderous booms echoing from the high-rise—erupted into absolute panic. Sirens began wailing across the district as mass chaos overtook the streets.
Back inside the shattered lobby, both allies and enemies froze, stunned by Kye's raw elemental projection.
Breaking the silence, Valerina vaulted off the rubble, driving her twin iron needles straight at Kye in a shower of sparks!
Valerina: "Just how many more tricks are you hiding, Kye? I can't wait any longer... the heat rising inside me is driving me completely wild, Kye Kurasaki!"
Despite her inhuman agility, the relentless suppressive barrage from Elena and Arisa finally took its toll. Several high-caliber armor-piercing rounds tore through Seraphine's defenses, shredding her uniform and painting her arms and torso in blood.
Seeing the critical opening, Hollow closed the distance in a single burst of acceleration.
Hollow: "[Blades of Destruction]! Take a look at my new technique!"
Hollow hurled both of his primary Death Blades with pinpoint precision. Seraphine crossed her twin Japanese fangs mid-air, deflecting the heavy incoming steel with a shower of sparks.
SHING—!
Before she could reset her stance, two concealed secondary blades deployed from the mechanical mounts on Hollow's shoulders. Grabbing the hilts in a reverse grip, he drove them forward in a blinding cross-slash.
SPLASH!
The twin blades impaled Seraphine clean through both forearms, knocking her weapons loose. Coated along the length of Hollow's steel was a viscous, pitch-black compound—
Seraphine let out a ragged gasp as her arms went limp and useless.
Meanwhile, just across the shattered hall, Kye's relentless offensive had Valerina completely pinned. His multi-elemental pressure and lethal close-quarters dominance dismantled her needle strikes one by one, forcing her into an uncoordinated, desperate retreat.
Yet, before either clash could reach its fatal climax—
[ END OF CHAPTER 32 ]